TORRINGTON >> Fearing he was going to use heroin the night before he died, Dale Rinaldi raised his hand at a drug-support meeting and told a the group he felt he was in danger of relapsing.

That’s the accusation lodged by a woman, Meagen Jordan, 30, of Torrington, who identified herself as the 44-year-old’s girlfriend.

On Monday, in yet another twist, Jordan told the Register Citizen that Dale Rinaldi attended a substance abuse meeting in Winsted, on Nov. 1, the night before the son of a former Torrington Police officer died of a apparent drug overdose, in his father, Dominic Rinaldi’s home, on Nov. 2.

Jordan said Dale Rinaldi acted “unusual” the night before he died, not returning text messages after claiming he was at a meeting in Winsted. Jordan’s account is supported by Dale Rindaldi’s brother, Leonard, who told the Register Citizen he received a voicemail from his brother that night saying he was at a meeting and would call back later.

Leonard Rinaldi said, by the time he got the message, it was too late to call back.

“I didn’t want to bother,” he said.

Some of Jordan’s other claims include: That her boyfriend admitted relapsing the week before his death, sought help after indicating he had a “burning desire” to use heroin, and took Jordan aside days before his death to explain why he avoided her much of the week.

“No one wanted to help him, and that enrages my soul,” Jordan said.

Dominic Rinaldi, reached by phone Monday, said he hadn’t been interviewed by police and accused his son’s girlfriend of lying.

Jordan spoke to the Register Citizen, partly to memorialize her boyfriend and partly to provide missing context regarding the final hours of his life. She said a friend phoned her at work on the afternoon of Nov. 2 with news of her Dale Rinaldi’s death.

“I was in shock,” she said. “I’m still in shock.”

Her account, and another family member’s, contradicts a version relayed by Dominic Rinaldi, who claimed his son spent the night at the home the two shared. Another family member previously rose the specter that Dale Rinaldi died of a drug overdose after she said she was told he spent at least part of the night at a local tavern, where he purchased drugs.

All that’s known for certain is that Dale Rinaldi died of a possible drug overdose, and he had previously been arrested on drug-related charges last year when police found him with a hyperdermic needle and a half-gram of heroin stuffed into his pocket. Dominic Rinaldi told the Register Citizen he believed that incident was a “setup.”

Lt. Bruce Whiteley, with Torrington Police, said detectives are still trying to piece together a timeline of the night before Dale Rinaldi’s death — where he went, who he spoke with and what he did — the hours before his father, Dominic, discovered his son sprawled face-down on the living room floor, in a pool of his own vomit, after apparently choking on a peanut butter sandwich, his father said.

Torrington Police declined to say whether it substantiated either family members’ claims and have remained tight-lipped about Dale Rinaldi’s death, citing an ongoing investigation.

Whiteley said detectives are exploring other possibilities, including that Dale Rinaldi’s death was accidental.

“There’s so many ifs,” Whiteley said. “It’s possible this is a drug overdose. It’s possible it is not.”

Police interviewed some family members, Whiteley said, although he wouldn’t disclose what they told police because his death is still being investigated, with potential charges being brought against whoever might have supplied Rinaldi drugs. Whiteley stressed police aren’t investigating Dale Rinaldi’s family members.

Leonard Rinaldi, who told the Register Citizen he didn’t know his brother had a girlfriend, said his family wants closure.

“It seems like people are coming out of the woodworks to say stuff,” he said. “Just leave the kid alone. It’s done; it’s over with.”

Jordan said she met Dale Rinaldi in September, at a substance abuse meeting, and the couple began dating soon after. A recovering substance user, Jordan said she has been sober for six months and was struck by Rinaldi’s kindness after he gave her a birthday card, despite the two being barely acquainted.

“That meant the world to me,” she said.

She said Rinadi drove his father’s vehicle to the substance abuse meeting on Nov. 1, a Friday, in Winsted, but couldn’t say when the meeting started or ended. The Register Citizen couldn’t independently confirm whether there was a meeting.

She said a mutual friend whom attended the meeting indicated Rinaldi stayed for the duration.

Jordan said at some point during the night she texted Dale Rinaldi, although she couldn’t produce those texts Monday. She said he didn’t respond, which was odd because he “always responded,” but she explained it away because Rinaldi had previously told her his phone was “messed up” and not properly receiving text messages.

Later, Jordan explained why Dale Rinaldi had avoided her that week: He had relapsed, saying it was a “one-day thing,” and wanted to spare her angst and temptation.

“I wasn’t gonna take you down with me,” Jordan said Rinaldi told her. “He relapsed. He openly admitted it.”

After that Friday meeting, Dale Rinaldi’s whereabouts are largely unaccounted for, and police have declined to say what happened to Dale Rinaldi. A family member said Dale Rinaldi returned to the residence he shared with his father around 10 p.m., which contradicts Dominic Rinaldi, who said his son was home at 6 or 6:30 p.m.

Dominic Rinaldi said his son washed dishes, made a peanut butter sandwich and settled in to watch television in the living room. The father claimed he went into the living room at about 8 p.m. to remind his son about an appointment Dale Rinaldi had the next day to draw blood.

Dominic Rinaldi previously told the Register Citizen his son, who was out on parole, had an ankle bracelet monitoring his activity, so he couldn’t have been at a bar. Jordan confirmed her boyfriend was under surveillance.

Another friend, Edna Sweeney of Torrington, told the Register Citizen last week Rinaldi asked her days before his death if she’d sell him urine ahead of a meeting he had with a parole officer.